Bring Back the Jug!

[nccyote]

Is it time to inundate President Gestring and AD Herbster, and anyone else in administration or media(Argus, KDLT, KSFY, KELO, local ESPN radio) who will listen with the chants "Bring Back the Jug!"?

Seriously though, is this something the Howling Pack or the Coyote Brotherhood could bring to the higher ups to get some attention to it?  Maybe I'm just out of the loop and things are already going on behind the scenes to get this trophy back in our possession, but I haven't heard anything outside of this board about the LBJ.  This seems like something the fanbase, the students, and general public of SD would be interested in.  It could be the spark that takes the in-state rivalry back to the next level again. 

[Yote 53]

Normally I wouldn't care about this as it is a trophy that was kind of lost to history. I always remember the game being for the student body president's pants, never heard anything about a jug. But, since Stig brought it up and put it on display on a regional sports network, I think the Little Brown Jug is back in play now and should be in USD's possession. I think we're justified in requesting it be sent to Vermillion until next year's game.

[kiyoat]

So there is some information about the jug in the "traditions" thread in "Other USD Talk" (coyotecrazie5 was the first to mention it in that thread, almost three years ago). And in the "State Week" thread from this year's (2019) rivalry game. I'll bring some of that back to this thread for safe keeping...

[kiyoat]

On YouTube: "Jackrabbit Journal - 11/16/16" from 3:35-4:50
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEBpO0deYhM



Transcript (in case the YouTube gets pulled):

*SDSU fight song transition*

David Brown, MSN:  ...Welcome back!  Hank, you played a couple of games against USD back in your Division II college days.  Do you remember the Little Brown Jug?

Hank McCall, MSN: Vaguely.  *chuckles* Uh, you had to remind me earlier, just what we were talking about.  But I remember (in) 2001 (I was a true freshman), Josh Ronnick and the boys went down to Vermillion and brought it home.  And then we beat them the two years after that, before making the move to Division I in 2004.  So I just remember it being in the trophy case, and not doing much travelling.  Which it certainly hasn't over the last ten years.

David: Yeah.  It stayed in Brookings.  But the Jug is making a comeback.  At least, if Coach Stig has anything to say about it.

*transition to pre-recorded interview*

David: I'm here with Coach Stig, and coach: A lot of people know the "Little Brown Jug" from the rivalry between Minnesota and Michigan in FBS, but you guys have your own "Little Brown Jug" between USD and SDSU right here. *points to jug*

Stig: We do, and until the Division I era, it was a big deal.  And since the Division I era we've kind-of lost track of it.  So it's kinda fun to have it here at South Dakota State, and put another winning score on it.

David:  Absolutely!  Let's make this thing popular again.

Stig: Well, ... We should.  I mean, everybody talks about the Border Marker.  Our rivalry with USD is a great rivalry.  So, let's talk about exchanging the Jug (or keeping in Brookings)...

*end scene*

[kiyoat]

Here's the mention of it in an SDSU master's thesis:

Vacura, James L., "A History of Intercollegiate Football at South Dakota State University" (1968).
Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 3510.

openprairie.sdstate.edu/etd/3510

(page 45)

In the fall of 1927, Roy c. Davis , a Vermillion jeweler, suggested that the University of South Dakota and South Dakota State College play for a "Little Brown Jug,¹¹ with the winning team taking it home and placing it in its trophy case until the next year. The University immediately issued a challenge to State College to try to win it. The challenge was accepted , and the annual football game between the two colleges increased in rivalry. The first game played for the jug found State College on the losing side. ⁸¹

Of course, Roy C. Davis was not a jeweler.  He was the owner of Davis Pharmacy, the oldest pharmacy in Dakota Territory.  The Davis/Lavin family has owned and operated the pharmacy for four generations, and still does.

[kiyoat]

www.usd.edu/the-south-dakotan/coyote-legacy-scholarship-program-honors-the-lavin-family

And here is a nice article from the South Dakotan about five generations of the Davis/Lavin family in Vermillion, and their historic and ongoing connections to the University....


Roy C. Davis is pictured in Davis Pharmacy during the mid-1920s.


Taken in the late 1920s or early 30s, this photo shows Marshall Davis at the back of the photo to the right of the man in the hat and tie.

...The Davis/Lavin family has been attending the University of South Dakota since the early 1900s. It started with first generation Roy and Fern Davis. Roy attended USD before working for Alfred Helgeson at what is known today as Davis Pharmacy. Fern graduated from the art department at USD in 1903 and taught art classes as well. Their son Marshall Davis graduated from USD in 1928 with a degree in economics and his wife Roberta in 1932 with a French degree. In fact, Marshall and Roberta got engaged outside of Old Main. Their daughter Sandy and her husband, Tom Lavin, both attended USD for a couple of years in the 1960s before transferring to SDSU to earn their degrees in pharmacy...

..The other Davis/Lavin family tradition is working at Davis Pharmacy, a staple of the Vermillion community since 1879. When the pharmacy opened, it was located below the bluff but a flood in 1881 forced it to open a new location on Market Street where it stayed for 20 years before moving to Main Street. Roy Davis began working for Alfred Helgeson in the early 1900s and purchased the pharmacy from Helgeson a few years later. Roy didn’t change the name to Davis Pharmacy until the 1920s.

In 1931, Marshall Davis took over the family business after his father, Roy, passed away. Tom and Sandy Lavin bought the pharmacy in 1970 and owned it for more than 40 years before selling it to their son, Matt, who is the current owner. In the early 2000s, the pharmacy moved to Cherry Street where it still resides today...

...When Matt attended USD, he focused on making the most of it. He said his brother Marshall was a big reason Matt chose USD because he saw how much Marshall enjoyed being there...

“The university has so much to offer. Sometimes kids think you need to go away to get a great education but, in many cases, the best is right outside your door,” Matt said.

Now, the fifth generation of the Davis/Lavin family is attending USD: Marshall and Angeline’s daughters Lauren and Emma, along with Matt and Carol’s daughter, Maddie...

[kiyoat]

The engraving on the side of the jug reads:

THE

ROY C DAVIS

LITTLE BROWN JUG

_____

SOUTH DAKOTA

FOOTBALL TEAMS

_____

"TRY AND GET IT"

[canislatrans]

Is the "TRY AND GET IT" original, or is that something Stig just carved in since 11/23/19?

[GoYotes]

Dec 10, 2019 13:18:11 GMT -6 canislatrans said:

Is the "TRY AND GET IT" original, or is that something Stig just carved in since 11/23/19?

Actually Stig added it a couple of years ago in reference to the sealed court records on his DWI

[kiyoat]

Dec 10, 2019 13:21:03 GMT -6 GoYotes said:

Dec 10, 2019 13:18:11 GMT -6 canislatrans said:

Is the "TRY AND GET IT" original, or is that something Stig just carved in since 11/23/19?

Actually Stig added it a couple of years ago in reference to the sealed court records on his DWI

[kiyoat]

I'm honestly very curious about the low-key history of the jug. I have seen historical photos of players posing with it, but those photos are no longer available online.  The source I posted those photos from was the SDLN (South Dakota Library Network) from a "Hobo Days History" collection.  I'll assume the files were just re-organized and not available from the same link.

It could be that the trophy had been forgotten after an extended win streak, then re-discovered.  The photo of the player holding it on the field was Fritz Gilbert, a SDSC player in 1947.  This is significant, because the Jacks had just won it back in the Fall of 1946, after a 10-year 8-game losing streak to the Yotes from 1935-1945.  (They didn't play 1943-1945) It was probably a big deal at that time to get it back, just like it is today.

Or maybe it was always exchanged, but just not on the field. More behind-the-scenes and less prominent. It's kinda mysterious. I'd love to see a Midco in-depth piece on it, ... assuming they would have permission from whomever is trying to make it go away....

[usdtator]

Need to start hitting up social media with tags of all the people involved in this process with #BringBacktheLBJ. Am I missing any?

@usdpresident
@dmherbster
@ElsenMidco
@niemanmidcosn
@mikehenriksen
@brian_Haenchen
@argusmattz (probably likes Stig is hiding it from us)
@holynutmeg
@sellnsdsu

[kiyoat]

Dec 10, 2019 15:04:14 GMT -6 usdtator said:

Need to start hitting up social media with tags of all the people involved in this process with #BringBacktheLBJ. Any I missing any?

@usdpresident
@dmherbster
@ElsenMidco
@niemanmidcosn
@mikehenriksen
@brian_Haenchen
@argusmattz (probably likes Stig is hiding it from us)
@holynutmeg
@sellnsdsu

How about Coach Bob and our seniors on the football team?
Also John Gaskins, Jeff Thurn, Yankton and Sioux City Sports news figures (less under anyone's thumb...)

[kiyoat]

Here's a fun theory. The Jacks have been cursed for not honoring the LBJ tradition, and exchanging it at the game. The longer they illegitimately possess it, the more calamity will befall their program...

Signing day approaches...

[kiyoat]

A live look at Coach Stig in his trophy case...



#LBJCurse